


The Magic of Christmas

by EllenMarieP



Series: Thomas Barrow Christmas Prompts [12]
Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, Secret Santa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:54:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28120449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllenMarieP/pseuds/EllenMarieP
Summary: Part 12 of the Christmas prompt challenge.Secret Santa - "Just tell me who got character A so I can swap!"Jimmy thinks he has the perfect gift for Thomas this year.
Relationships: Thomas Barrow/Jimmy Kent
Series: Thomas Barrow Christmas Prompts [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2030419
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29
Collections: A Very Thomas Barrow Christmas 2020





	The Magic of Christmas

**The Magic of Christmas**

If anyone tried to tell Jimmy he was out of breath after running up several flights of stairs he would flat out deny it. He was a prime specimen of a man at the peak of health trying to hunt down an evasive ladies maid for reasons known only to himself. Said ladies maid was just leaving Lady Mary’s room with a heap of dresses in her arms as he arrived on the gallery.

“Anna!”

“Jimmy? What are you doing up here?”

“You know who everyone’s got for the secret Santa don’t you?”

“So, what if I do?”

“Just tell me who got Mr Barrow so I can swap!”

Anna couldn’t help the suspicion she felt at that and stared at him with a frown. She knew that Thomas and Jimmy were friends now, but she still couldn’t forget how hurt Thomas had been after the…incident. Admittedly they all knew that it had really been O’Brien’s doing but Jimmy hadn’t exactly been kind to Thomas in the year that followed. While Thomas hadn’t been kind to anyone in the past, Anna always knew he had his reasons. Jimmy, however, was simply trying to prove that he was a ‘real’ man and failing miserably in being anything other than a prat.

“Why do you want to know?”

The guilt that Jimmy still felt over how things went between himself and Thomas was always simmering away under the surface but now he was sure he knew how to really make things right. He’d been lost when he arrived at Downton and was still trying to figure himself out when O’Brien started sticking pins in him, causing him to act harshly when that’s not really what he wanted at all. Yes, Thomas kissing him in his sleep unnerved him but if Alfred hadn’t seen and he had had time to talk to Thomas, it could have gone so differently.

Jimmy didn’t think he was like Thomas in only being interested in men, he had always found himself admiring both men and women equally, but he knew that actually being with a man was against the law and he was never brave enough to take that risk.

Until now.

“It’s nothing bad, Anna. I promise. It’s just…I’ve been trying to make it up to him, for how I treated him before…an I found the perfect gift for him the other day so if I knew who had him for the secret Santa, I could swap and they could have Carson cos I’ve no idea what to get _him_ at all.”

Anna made him wait in tense silence for a whole two minutes before she relaxed and shook her head with a sigh.

“It must be your lucky day seeing as we’re supposed to be giving the gifts _tomorrow_. I got Thomas and I have just the thing for Mr Carson. Just promise me you’ll never hurt him again.”

Jimmy nodded quickly with a delighted smile quickly forming on his face.

“I won’t, not ever. Thank you, Anna, you’re a saint.”

With that, he dashed off and disappeared back into the servants' passage leaving Anna wondering if she’d made the right decision.

**Later that night….**

Thomas was startled out of his drowsy reverie by a timid knock on his door. He felt a not so small amount of irritation at the interruption. It was late, he’d had a long day and his bed was right there calling to him. Nether the less he couldn’t deny he was curious; he hadn’t had a late-night visitor in a while.

His surprise at opening his door and seeing Jimmy standing at the other side, stood straight with his hands clasped behind his back and a nervous smile of his face left him speechless, his eyes wide and jaw slack. The fact that Jimmy was dressed only in his underwear with a bright red bow around his neck just added to his shock.

“Happy Christmas Thomas, may I come in?.”

Eventually, something in Thomas’ brain registered the question and he stepped back into the middle of his room without a word, allowing Jimmy to enter and close the door behind himself. Once he was sure the door was firmly shut Jimmy moved closer until Thomas could almost count his every eyelash, still with that nervous but familiarly cheeky smile in place.

“Lost for words? That’s not like you Mr Barrow.”

Thomas was currently engaged in an inner war between his heart and his head and felt as if he was lost at sea, the tide carrying him to unknown lands and him powerless to stop it. There was a flicker of hope that maybe the tide would take him to a brighter future but there was also the dark flame of fear warning him that he may be sailing to ruin. Somewhere amidst the inner chaos he finally managed to find his voice.

“I don’t understand. What is this?”

Jimmy’s smile faltered a little as his nerve wavered. He knew that he’d have to explain himself and he was terrified of not being able to find the right words no matter how much he had rehearsed this scene in his mind. Taking a deep breath, he decided to just follow something he’d read in a soppy poetry book once and let his heart do the talking.

“Thomas. When I arrived here I was lost, I had no idea who I was or where I was going in life. I let fear and insecurity control my actions and I let…the wrong person…give me advice. When you took that beating for me it made me stop and think about everything that had happened and everything that could happen. I was completely honest with myself for what could be the first time in my life and now I know who I am. I know what I want. Thomas when I first met you I thought you were the most beautiful person I’d ever met, and I still think that but now I also think you’re the bravest person I’ve ever met. I don’t know if this is true love, I don’t know if we’ll be together forever or if you even still want me like that. All I know is that I want to try, and you have no idea how much effort I put into getting you as my secret Santa so that I could give you…me. So, my question is…do you want me?”

As Jimmy was talking he could clearly see the range of emotions flickering across Thomas’ face like lights reflecting off ripples in water. He saw the moment his eyes brightened, and a single tear trickled down each cheek, meeting under his chin before dropping silently onto the floor. As far as Jimmy was concerned, Thomas had never been more beautiful.

Thomas heart was almost beating out of his chest, overwhelmed with sorrow and pain, joy and love all entwined together like strands of ivy wrapped around a tree. As Jimmy’s words washed over him his head reminded him of how close he came to being completely ruined because of this man, this beautiful, complicated man. His heart, however, won the final battle which only ever really had one outcome.

“Yes.”

That one word, so simple and yet so immense, was all Jimmy needed. His hands reached up to gently caress Thomas’ face as he brought their lips together in a soft embrace. Thomas’ arms wrapped around him as their gentle kiss changed seamlessly to heated passion, their tongues meeting in a flawless dance as they took each other’s breath away.

One by one, articles of clothing fell to the floor, trailing closer and closer to the bed before finally, a bright red bow fluttered serenely to the ground. The magic of Christmas lighting the way to a brighter future.


End file.
